OCR Text

Lethbridge Herald, The (Newspaper) - October 9, 1973, Lethbridge, Alberta
rutMiay, Octobtr 9. 1973 THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD 31 CANADIAN PRESS SURVEY: Urban transport problems getting better Most major problems lac- ing Canadian cities appear to be getting worse. One of them, at least, may be getting bet- ter. Some optimism is emerging from attempts to develop bet- ter public transportation sys- tems in urban areas at rea- sonable cost and thereby re- duce the pollution, congestion, blight and waste caused by private cars. Such considerations as economy, convenience and the fear of a fuel shortage appear to have assumed more impor- tance in the battle between private cars and subways, buses, streetcars and com- muter trains. The private car dominates everywhere but many urban planners are working to un- determine it. PREDICTS CHANGEOVER James Kearns. president of the Canadian Urban Transit Association, predicts that ur- ban Canadians will use public transportation more as it be- comes more efficient while aarking and gasoline costs mount and traffic congestion increaees. Douglas Fullerton. former head of the National Capital Commission in Ottawa, says people are starting lo see the private car "as a dangerous friend." He sees no magic way of reducing the private car's do- mination. It must be done, piece by piece, in an over-all program Public transit must be improved with special bus lanes, greater transit sub- sidies and possibly the dial-a- bus scheme. A Cross-Canada Survey by The Canadian Press indicates that these ideas and others are being tried out in many that many ot the experiments arc reported successful. ONTARIO Mr Reams says Ontario is "blazing the trail for all America" in the provincial government's approach to public transportation. The government now meets SO per cent of the capital and equipment costs for transit systems. Some other prov- inces don't give their cities a cent for public transportation. The Toronto Transit Com- mission lists some of the steps taken by it, other authorities' and governments to en- courage use of public trans- portation. "This would include re- served bus lanes, maintaining streetcars in the central core, development ot pedestrian malls, subway extensions, new subway lilies, parking at subway stations, expanded GO (Government of Ontario commuter train) rail facil- ities, staggered hours Toronto, like many other cities, is experimenting with dial-a-bus service this fall. The service, in which subur- banites usually pay an extra fare to be picked up at their own doorstep after tele- phoning for radio-equipped buses, is also being tried in Ottawa. Kingston, Sudbury and Stratford. In Ottawa plans are under way for more express bus routes and exclusive bus lanes on some main streets within a year. Authorities say a computer-controlled system ot traffic lights which gives priority to buses is possible within two years. BRITISH COLUMBIA "As usual, British Columbia is different from the rest of says Brian Sullivan, assistant director in the pro- vincial bureau of transit serv- ices in Vancouver. The province pays all capi- tal and operating costs for the transit systems in Vancouver and Victoria and 50 per cent for other B.C. cities. The Greater Vancouver transit area, says Mr. Sulli- van, has more passengers a year than any other city in North America without a rail system, except for Los Ange- les and Detroit. Vancouver handles 72 mil- lion passengers a year, four times the load of Portland. Ore., and times that of Seattle, both of comparable size. The Greater Vancouver re- gional district has maintained since 1971 that public transit has a higher priority than a regional roads program. Vancouver council has said it will restrict downtown parking and next year will close a portion of Granville Street, a main downtown ar- tery, to all traffic except buses. A third crossing of Burrard Inlet to North Vancouver and West Vancouver has been turned down in favor of im- provig public transit. A park-and-ride experiment in Vancouver, in which driv- ers park their cars at the Pa- cific National Exhibition grounds and ride the rest of the way downtown in express buses has been judged a suc- cess by officials and drivers QUEBEC Lawrence Hannigan. chair- man of the Montreal urban Community, says permits lor parking lots downtown are no longer being given out. thus enrouraging use of public transportation. He added that it is not becoming easier to park on the streets for an ex- tended period. There are plans, however, to set up more parking lots at terminus stations of subway lines soon to be completed. The subway, which now carries about 40 per cent of the one million people who use the transportation system dai- ly for at least part of their journey, is to gain an addi- tional 28 miles and 52 sta- tions. There are already 16 miles and 26 stations. ALBERTA Prairie cities lack the con- gestion found in Central Can- ada and are therefore given a good chance of solving many City size not always transport advantage In public transportation, bigness can be both an advan- tage and a disadvantage Public transportation costs in St. John's work out lo about for every man. woman and child while the same pcr- capita costs in Montreal total about But. the experts point out. that doesn't mean thai transit facilities in the Newloiindland capital are necessarily run rnoro efficiently It does mean, usually, that a hipher percentage o! people in PACIFIC wash people EXTERIOR WASH wuh gasoline purchase ol 5 ga''ons or more (Exteriorwasn 51 75 with gasoline purchase of less than 5 gallons) Completa interior and exterior wash Si 25 wilh purchase1 ol IS gallons or more S1 75 with 10 15 gallon purchase 25 with 5-10 gallon purchase S2 75 with no gasoline purchase SUPERSONIC CAR WASH 1819 3 Ave S We honor all credit cards approved by dealer before purchase .ncliiding CHARGEX. Extra charge lor k commercial credit cards Montreal use public trans- portation than in St John's Nalurallv, a lower per- centage ol people in the bip- per cities are inclined to use private cars because parking problems and traffic are con- siderably greater. (ieneraliy. the more people thai use the public system, the higher the delicit A Cross-Canada Survey by The Canadian Press ol public transportation cosls shows wide variations, most ol them related directly to the size ol Hie community. Trer-capila costs were work- ed oul dividing the transit systems' operating cost by the estimated popula- tion of the area thev serve HIGH IN TORONTO Toronto's por-capita cost lor public transportation was about S42. Winnipegpcrs pay S34 and Kdmontomans Vancouver, as Canada's third-largest city, is an ex- ception lo the trend Resi- dents pay onlv about per capita Ottawa's per-capita figure is while smaller Regma and Saskatoon have fig- ures Ottawa, tor example, ex- pects to handle about 41 S mil- lion rides on its transit sys- tem m 100 rides per person This compares with in Toronto. 150 in Montreal. 100 in Winnipeg and 90 in Van- couver. Toronto's transportation system is the country's most experts ac- knowledge it to be the best. Toronto's transit compjtu reported expenses nl H million while Moniieal spent li million and cotivei S-0 million Winnipeg's svMem had an operating budget ol mil- lion. Kdmoiiloii fi million Ottawa 4 million Hepin.i fi million. :i million and Si .John s >l li million Fares across I lie coimln are almost ;il cents ,i ride Some Vancouver residents 40 cents it through more than one during pe.ik hours The is studying a simplified Lire svs- tem Toronto eliminated Us svslem lasl .luiiuarx ;iml resi dents now a sundard cents to pel .itnwhere Montreal h.is no I.ire but residents pay 30 cents a ticket Tahiti stop resumed by Qantas VANCOUVER Starling Friday. Quantas Airlines will rcintroduce Tahiti as a stopover on its weekly service between Van- cuuvei diiii Sydilev. Austidlia. the company's Canadian manager announced Thur- sdav 'You can eat lunch behind the diesels' Saskatoon's loss may be Edmonton's gain. While some Canadian cities, such as Edmonton, are buying new fleets of electric trolley buses, Saskatoon is gradually getting rid of its fleet. Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver are all considering the ecological advantages of retaining their pollution-free trolleys. especially for downtown routes where carbon monoxide levels are already high. Saskatoon, however, is replacing its fleet because the city lacks a real air pollution problem and its diesel buses don t cause much pollution, says transit manager Bert Scharfe. "You could eat your lunch right behind our diesels." he boasts, telling of proper engine tuning and use of highgrade fuel. The 18 buses expected this fall to replace the trolleys will all be equipped with anti-pollution devices, at extra per vehicle. Officials from both Edmonton and Vancouver arc expected lo bid on Saskatoon's trolley buses, overhead network of wire and power supply equipment. Electric buses lost a battle last the winner was their streetcar itself. Toronto officials had decided to eliminate streetcars on St. Clair Avenue and put in electric buses. However, the strectcnr's loyal fans protested so loudly that the city scrapped its plans Toronto remains the only Canadian city with a fleet of street- cars. transportation problems be- fore they become much worse. Edmonton city council has given general approval lo making the city of the third municipality in Canada with a subway system. The line would be partly underground and partly along the CNR right of way for an initial 4.2 miles. It is expected to open by 1978. The council, in response to public pressure, has also abandoned construction oi a freeway through a wooded ra- vine, just as Toronto aban- doned its Spadina Express- way. Calgary is also advancing with plans for a subway and has developed what officials term an advanced form of ex- press bus service. Officials say the Blue Ar- row service is a success even though it has been in oper- ation for less than a year Patronage climbed to 29.000 passengers in August from 15.- 000 in the opening month. Statistics show that 25 per cent of the Blue Arrow riders have been enticed away from private cars. MANITOBA Jack Kye. public works commissioner in Winnipeg, says transportation, at present, is not a serious prob- lem in his city. The New Democratic Party government said during its successful re-election cam- paign last June that the S25- million estimated cost ol ur- ban expressways could run the Winnipeg transit system for a year, even if fares were eliminated It said solutions to urban transportation problems that rely heavily on Ilic automo- bile "are expnsive from the standpoint of actual construc- tion and in terms of damage to the environment through air pollution.'" SASKATCHEWAN I'nlike the other Western provinces. Saskaehewan cities get no money from the provincial government for transit facilities. Regina. nevertheless, is the scene of Canada's first and. by reports, most successful ex- periment in the dial-a-bus system. Residents of the entire south ?nd can have a bus at their door at a fixed time every day. or at other times on a half hour's notice by tele- phoning the dispatcher. The hus delivers them to a shop- pjng centre where they can board buses going downtown. The project, unlike some in Ontario which report substan- tial losses, is almost breaking even and cutting from Kcgina's transit deficit. The traditional fixed route service in the area used to pick up only an average of 350 passengers a day lost a year. The new system carries about 1.900 NOVA SCOTIA Elmer MacNally, operaions manager of the Halifax tran- sit system, says use of ex- clusive bus lanes on major ar- teries is being studied. However, he and other offi- cials reported no moves to dis courage use of private ve- hicles in the city and no defi- nite long-ranpe plans. NEW BRUNSWICK Urban transportation sys- tem? in the province are pri- vately-owned and do not re- lease full financial figures. The communities generally report no real transportation problems. Moncton. for example, has no shortage of parking areas on side streets near the amin business and shopping dis- Iricls. "As long as it's more con- venient to lake cars down- town, people will use their cars." says Walter Snook, re- gional town planner for the Moncton arca. DUUU Dial-a-bus service Ottawa, like many other cities with transportation problems, is experimenting with dial-a-bus service this fall. In operation in Nepean Township outside Ottawa, bus picks you up in front of your home and delivers you to either the closest regular bus stop or shopping area. The service costs 25 cents plus the regular bus fare. measure aperies Rea. up up for 144" x 84" Create a beautiful, new window treatment !cr your home! Its as easy as bringing us your window meas- urements with cur Made-lo-Measure drapery service. 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